al to his promise of obedience. The Boy, here, was Captain.

Suppressing a sigh, Jabe stealthily and very gradually shifted to an
easier position, so stealthily that the Boy beside him did not know he
had moved. Then, fixing his eyes once more upon the beavers, he tried
to renew his interest in them. As he stared, he began to succeed
amazingly. And no wonder! The beavers all at once began to do such
amazing things. There were many more of them than he had thought; and
he was sure he heard them giving orders in something that sounded to
him like the Micmac tongue. He could not believe his ears. Then he saw
that they were using larger stones, instead of mud and turf, in their
operations--and floating them down the pond as if they were corks. He
had never heard of such a thing before, in all his wilderness
experience. He was just about to compliment the Boy on this
unparalleled display of engineering skill, when one particularly large
beaver, who was hoisting a stone as big as himself up the face of the
dam, let his burden slip a little. Then began a terrible struggle
between the beaver and the stone. In his agonizing effort--which his
companions all stopped work to watch--the unhappy beaver made a loud,
gurgling, gasping noise; then, without a hint of warning, dropped the
stone with a splash, turned like lightning, and grabbed Jabe violently
by the arm.

The astonishing scene changed in a twinkling; and Jabe realized that
the Boy was shaking him.

"A nice one to watch beavers, you are!" cried the Boy, angry and
disappointed.

"Why--where've they all gone to?" demanded Jabe, rubbing his eyes.
"They're the most interestin' critters I ever hearn tell of!"

"Interesting!" retorted the Boy, scornfully. "So interesting you went
to sleep! And you snored so they thought it was an earthquake. Not
another beaver'll show a hair round here to-night. We'd better go
home!"

Jabe grinned sheepishly, but answered never a word; and silently, in
Indian file, the Boy leading, the two took the trail back to camp.

CHAPTER VI

The Peril of the Traps

AT breakfast next morning the Boy had quite recovered his good humour,
and was making merry at Jabe's expense. The latter, who was, of
course, defenceless and abashed, was anxious to give him something new
to think of.

"Say," he exclaimed suddenly, after the Boy had prodded him with a
searching jibe. "If ye'll let up on that snore, now, I'll take a day
off from my cruisin',